Baseball is America’s pastime for a reason, and each pocket of the country has its own unique connection to the sport. To celebrate the 250th anniversary of this nation, we’re taking you on a summer road trip across the U.S. with 50 stories from all 50 states. The series continues with Louisiana.

LOUISIANA

LSU's baseball program

Louisiana State University’s baseball program is a factory that churns out big leaguers, some of whom are among the biggest names in the sport right now. Read more

ALASKA

Midnight Sun Game

A midnight baseball game … without artificial lights? Grab some caffeine and take a journey to Fairbanks, Alaska, for a stadium experience unlike any other. Read more

DELAWARE

Johnson a baseball pioneer

The first Delawarean inducted into the Hall of Fame was the great Judy Johnson, a Negro Leagues legend and a mentor for those who came after him. Read more

FLORIDA

Miami's Dorsey Park

Today Dorsey Park is a nondescript ballpark, but in its heyday it hosted Negro Leagues luminaries like Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige: “The world would come here.” Read more

IDAHO

Playing on purple

This stunning purple field at the College of Idaho is not just unique for its color, but for how it was made. You’ve never seen a baseball field like this before. Read more

KANSAS

The Mick's monkey business?

Mickey Mantle hit his first pro homer in the small town of Independence. Did it land in a zoo exhibit named Monkey Island? You be the judge. Read more

MARYLAND

Eutaw Street homer plaques

The Eutaw Street homer plaques are a staple of Baltimore's Camden Yards and a must-see for any visitors going to an Orioles game. But how did they come to be? Read more

MISSISSIPPI

Left-Field lofts

Want to take in a live baseball game from the comfort of your own apartment balcony? Only in Starkville, Miss. at the Left-Field Lofts at Dudy Noble Field. Read more

MONTANA

Redus' historic summer

Gary Redus’ .462 average for the Billings Mustangs still stands as a Minor League record. But this story begins with some important advice from his mother. Read more

NEBRASKA

The greatest trick play

It’s an illusion that would have made Houdini proud, the greatest trick play ever executed, and on the grandest stage at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. Read more

NEVADA

Las Vegas legacy

Major League Baseball is coming to Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2028, when the Athletics move in, but there’s already a long history of the sport in Sin City. Let’s dive in. Read more

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Newk-Campy bond started here

Jackie Robinson paved the big league path for his future teammates Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella, who got their trailblazing start playing together in Nashua. Read more

NEW JERSEY

Where it all began

What is widely considered the first baseball game ever recorded took place almost 200 years ago in New Jersey, and it featured the Knicks? Now wait a minute … Read more

NEW MEXICO

Roswell's home run king

This is the story of Joe Bauman, who became the one-time home run king while operating a gas station just down the road from his home field in Roswell, N.M. Read more

NORTH CAROLINA

A baseball oasis in the mountains

A baseball field tucked in the mountains of North Carolina, where you can watch a game around a fire pit in an Adirondack chair? What could possibly be better. Read more

OREGON

The team vying to keep Portland weird

An opera performance, a wrestling match or a wedding, all at the local ballpark? These are the Portland Pickles, who embrace the weird. Read more

RHODE ISLAND

The longest game ever played

It took eight-plus hours over 33 innings, and the frigid wind forced the players to build fires in the dugout. This is the epic saga of the longest game ever played. Read more

SOUTH CAROLINA

The Last Childhood Lap

A high school team outside Charlotte has an especially emotional sendoff for its seniors, with every player taking a “last childhood lap” as their parents await at home plate. Read more

TEXAS

Ball Five!

The booming “Ball 5” chant is a staple at the home ballpark of Texas A&M, and it’s been known to put pitchers in a blender. So how did it come to be? Read more

UTAH

Mountains' majesty

The baseball field at Brigham Young University, with snow-capped Rocky Mountains rising beyond the outfield wall, was made to be put on a postcard. Read more

WASHINGTON

The making of Tim Lincecum

Everything about Tim Lincecum was unconventional, from his hair to his height to his mechanics. This is his story, starting with a dominant outing for the Huskies. Read more